Study confirms value of TEXAS Grant

A TEXAS Grant to help students finance college is worth 350 points on the SAT test or is akin to a 30 percentile boost in high school ranking, according to analysis of about 20,000 student records.

The success associated with a TEXAS Grant is like a student graduating under the more rigorous Distinguished Achievement Plan rather than the Recommended High School Plan, according to a Legislative Budget Board study.

“A TEXAS Grant costs about $3,500 per student. You cannot spend $3,500 to increase somebody’s SAT score by 350 points,” says Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, a member of the House Appropriation Subcommittee on Education, who requested the study.

Texas higher education officials say financial assistance is the key to enrolling more Hispanic students and closing education gaps in Texas. The Legislature appropriated $427 million for the 2008-09 budget for the TEXAS Grant program. Education officials are recommending a $350 million increase.

Such an increase would allow the state to give financial help to about two-thirds of eligible students. The existing program covers fewer than half.

“Going to college is like starting a successful business. You need capital,” Villarreal said. “The TEXAS Grants is our most successful scholarship program that provides students capital to make this commitment.”

An inadequate investment in the college financial aid program will limit the likelihood of success for students, Villarreal said.

Subcommittee Chairman Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, said he’s not sure what the policy implications of the study are “other an financial aid is important.”

Villarreal plans to share the report with all of his colleagues in an effort to make a case “that we need to increase our investment in TEXAS Grants.”